Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.
– Mr. Rogers
Ah – it’s that time of year again. It is a time when new textbooks and notebooks are being purchased. It’s when classes are being added and dropped from schedules. It’s when local businesses are suddenly out of supplies such as twin-XL sheets and alarm clocks. Most importantly, it’s when Elon students are re-uniting with friends while a new set of Elon students are looking to connect with classmates. It is the start of a new school year!
Last Thursday began the Isabella Cannon International Centre’s International Student Orientation program. These few days allowed our international students to move-in to their dorms a few days earlier than the rest of the incoming students. Activities during the international orientation included campus tours, question-and-answer sessions for parents, information about banking, information about immigration issues, and opportunities to socialize with other international students. I am quite pleased to say that we have an amazing group of international students! In addition to coming from a variety of different countries (United Kingdom, China, Tunisia, Lebanon, Panama, Saudi Arabia, and many more!), the students are all so unique in their experiences. It has truly been a pleasure to get to know them in this process and I can only imagine what incredible things they will do here in their time as students!
Move-In weekend. Quite possibly the most chaotic, but energetic time on Elon University’s campus and this past weekend proved to be no exception. The Elon community saw a record number of new students arrive on campus on Friday, with over 1,400 students (freshman and transfer) getting ready to start their university careers . As you can imagine, it was quite hectic here and in the neighboring area; however, Elon’s New Student Orientation office did a wonderful job in helping these new students with their move. To see what it was like, I would encourage you to visit Elon’s official photo gallery of Move-In Day photos.
There’s more to just International Student Orientation and New Student Orientation/ Move-In Day however. Activities for the weekend included New Student Convocation, “Catch the Fire” social events in the different residential areas, “Dramatic Dialogue” discussions, a hypnotist, and much more! The weekend’s activities will conclude this evening and lead right into the start of classes tomorrow.
And thus that leads me back to the beginning of my blog post for today. For those of you familiar with the beloved Mr. Rogers, you may have heard him say this quote or read it in one of his books. For those unfamiliar, Mr. Rogers was the host of a children’s television show that many of my peers grew up on, listening to his wisdom and learning from each episode. I thought this quote would be most appropriate for all of our students at Elon, but particularly those who are new to our community. For many of them, it is a time when there are so many changes going on which can often be overwhelming and confusing. Homesickness can often start to creep in during some moments. However (and I still remind myself of this with each and every school year!), it is important to know that each year, each month, each day, and each moment of our lives brings about new opportunities. This new school year is no exception – for all of our enrolling students, I wish you the best in this coming year and I look forward to seeing your faces around campus!
Destination: Elon 